The letter read:

Dear Mr. Branson,

            This is a great school that you are running! Is it hard to run it? What is your favorite part of the school? How do you run the school? What are your jobs?

Love,

K-1

It is both rare and exciting to receive a letter that begins “This is a great school that you are running!” First of all, I really appreciated the exclamation point at the end! I don’t get to use those often, and now I think it is just the right thing to use at certain times! The sentence was also a bit interesting in that I agree that Indian Creek is indeed a great school, but I am not sure if I am running it or that its greatness should even be attributed to me doing the running. I decided to leave it that Indian Creek is a great school and yes, I do spend a good bit of time running.

Following that wonderful opening statement were four questions. It would be easy to contemplate that the K-1 class is engaged in some sort of lesson involved in letter writing and the teacher wanted the students to write (and receive) a letter. I prefer to think they just wanted to know more about the inner workings of an educational organization and its governance architecture and in addition some thoughts on the theory of transformational leadership!

My response, delivered to the K-1 class, appears below. Thanks students for writing, and great job on the letter!

February 6, 2012

K-1 Kindergarten Class

C/O Ms. Amy Watson and Ms. Mindy Probst

Indian Creek School

680 Evergreen Rd.

Crownsville, MD 21032

Dear students,

Thank you very much for your kind letter. It was a pleasure to read it. I was impressed by your careful wording and your use of punctuation. You did a very nice job. I also very much liked seeing each of your signatures. In your letter you asked me several questions. I would like to answer those.

About school, you asked me, “Is it hard to run it?” It is not hard to run Indian Creek School because so many people are actually doing all of the work. We have many people who help make the school run well. We have teachers, staff members, lunchroom servers, bus drivers, maintenance people, principals (we call them Division Heads), nurses, librarians and many more. We also have parents who help a lot. Students also help run the school, too, when they act as leaders in the classroom, at play, and every day in the hallways. Everybody in our school actually runs the school. I could never do all of the jobs that need to be done. More importantly, everybody does their jobs so well, it really means they run the school.

My favorite part of the school is watching students learn, play, and grow. Even more, I like seeing students work together. When students cooperate, they help one another in many ways. So my favorite part of school is seeing students learning, and learning with one another. My other favorite part of school is watching how friendly all of our students are. I like seeing students be friendly to one another and treat each other with kindness. I guess that means my favorite part of school is you. What is your favorite part of school?

You also asked, “How do I run the school?” Well, our school is very big. We have two separate campuses. We have 656 students. We also have 150 people who work at our school. So our school is quite big and that means it takes more than one person to run it. So I run the school by helping people work together. I bet that is what happens in your class, too. Do you work together to make your classroom run better? I think my biggest job is helping people cooperate. How do you help people cooperate?

Finally, you asked, “What are your jobs?” My main job is to communicate information among people at school. I really just spend a lot of time talking. I also spend more time listening. I think it is more important to listen than talk. Do you think so, too? Finally I try to help people do their jobs. So I try to help people, and that means I don’t tell them what to do. Instead, they tell me what they need to do their jobs better. When you are in class, do you spend more time talking or listening? How do you help your friends learn better?

Thank you for your letter. It was wonderful to hear from you. Have a good day today in school and enjoy your learning.

Kindest regards,

Rick Branson, Ed.D

Head of School

What do the studies say?

• 32 percent of students in higher education are taking at least one online class;
• Currently 12 million college students are taking at least one online course and that number is expected to grow to 22 million by 2014;
• 65% of all traditional colleges and universities offer online classes;

Finally, according to a Pew Poll, the majority of university presidents feel that online university options offer the same value as traditional courses. I guess that is not too surprising as it is their own universities who are offering the classes.

As Indian Creek pilots online classes for our own high school students, we have two primary goals:

• Provide Indian Creek students with an online experience in high school as a preparation for college;
• Use online classes to further expand our own electives.

We know that students must have specific dispositions for being successful in online classes and engaging in online learning can help students develop these dispositions. Online classes require even greater responsibility on the part of the student, and further require that they self-manage their own learning. This fits in perfectly with Indian Creek as we advocate for students to know themselves as learners, and develop their own learning skills.

I believe that having a first online course at Indian Creek helps students have a successful experience before they go to college. In addition, online learning opens students to a different learning environment, and for some students this will help them decide if they will want to pursue online courses in college.

For me, living in Sapporo, Japan, and attending face-to-face classes in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, working with a cohort scattered across the planet meant that my online classes for my doctorate were not an option, but a requirement. It was a different experience than face-to-face, classroom learning – different, not better or worse. I had great interaction with my cohort members, colleagues in classes and professors, and it made my doctorate possible.

And the blended delivery system was an option that was simply not available to me for my bachelor’s or master’s degrees. I guess that dates me a bit, but it also speaks to our need to keep current with innovative technology and innovative teaching practices.  However, for our students the numbers are clear – online learning is now a part of colleges and universities, and a growing part, and in the future an option our graduates will consider at college.

For our school, online courses will be a limited experience because our investment is in the interaction of students with our teachers in the classroom and also with our teachers in blended learning options as teachers delivery their courses through diverse technology. We believe in the importance of the student/teacher relationship and what it means not just for teaching and learning, but also understanding and growing. However, we also know that by offering students the opportunity to take an online course now, we help them prepare for success tomorrow.

Using a delivery system with these devices is part of our curriculum program in every way. Simply said, there is no better school to engage in using iPads than Indian Creek. Our advantage is that fundamentally and philosophically, we believe in using diverse teaching strategies to reach all students. The integration of our AKOM knowledge and experience with the power of iPad technology will be powerful because at its root is our student-centric approach to teaching and learning through a variety of methodologies; in the very near future these will include iPads.

To accomplish this, we have work to do. From the virtualization of the new server that is part of our digital infrastructure to the establishment of a wireless network with greater capacity, we are strengthening the core of our system. Those steps are in progress and will be ready for the iPad program.

In addition, we know that to succeed we must make sure that we have integration throughout the divisions and in all classrooms. To that end we will put iPads into the hands of all our teachers and then provide training for them. Some of our teachers are well ahead of us here in using this technology, and for some this will be sparkling new. We know that the ability of our teachers to adapt their teaching to different learners puts us in the right place to begin integration.

Finally, we need to keep our focus on how this curriculum initiative helps drive our work in the areas of student collaboration, communication, critical thinking, and creativity. It will be those areas where we see the iPads as another important part of our teaching and learning. As developers focus their efforts more and more on creating educational apps specifically for iPads (now at 5,000 and counting), we will make these available in our mobile labs.

Are we excited? Sure. Is this initiative disruptive? In the right ways.  Are we confident? Absolutely.

We continue to study other models of success to support our own work. However, as we look at other models of implementation, we confirm that we will break new ground as our teaching philosophy of supporting each student in his or her diverse learning styles will be enhanced with this new technology. We are simply adding another strategy to help students reach their lofty educational goals.

By making the iPads available to all teachers and to each division, we happily anticipate the comments when students begin sentences, “Today in school, I . . .” Now that’s the “I” in iPads. We are certain that this new initiative will be one that establishes the foundation for future curricular growth in this area. While some schools might merely view the purchase of iPads for students as the goal, at Indian Creek we view the seamless integration of iPads into our AKOM teaching as another important path to learning for all students.

I had intended to say a few words before the concert. Ms. Gibboney was going to say the “thank yous” and I had about two and half minutes about the importance of arts, especially at the holiday season. However, I realized two things: first, the students were seated on the risers on stage at the very beginning, meaning they would have to sit through me talking, and second, that the parents were far more interested (rightly so) in getting a special picture than in listening to me. So, I gave a brief welcome and to everyone’s relief, quickly got out of the way.

Now if I had spoken I would have said something like . . .

“The holiday season is synonymous with the arts. During the holidays we think of Norman Rockwell paintings, holiday movies like Miracle on 34^th Street and It’s a Wonderful Life. We remember the first time we saw The Nutcracker, and we hum favorite songs throughout the season.”

Then I was going to make a transition to Indian Creek . . .

“At Indian Creek, we believe the arts are also synonymous with an essential education. The arts are as important as the study of language, mathematics, science, and social studies. We know this because we see the influence of visual art in first grade come through as our students’ study social science. We see the importance of music as students learn math.  We know the value of physical education as our students learn science.

“Further, we know that the arts unto themselves are essential. When students sing together, in harmony, they learn about collaboration, when they go from singing words to performing music, they learn about communication, and about what we might describe as expression. They learn confidence. We know that the arts are part of what unlocks the creativity in a student for all aspects of their lives. We might call this ‘passion.’”

Here was my encore . . .

“And during the holiday season, we might call that passion, joy. And so with our students singing, we wish everyone a joyous holiday season, and best wishes for the new year.”

Instead, I knew that it was right and just for me to save those words and get out of the way so our students could sing and our parents could enjoy. And as I listened, without even thinking of my short speech, I knew that without saying anything, everyone understood exactly what I meant to say.

Happy holidays.

So I was intrigued when Indian Creek hosted a conference for the Association of Independent Maryland Schools (AIMS). It was a full day that incorporated teaching world languages using an All Kinds of Minds philosophy. (Here is where I remind readers that ICS is a recognized leader in using differentiated teaching and assessment strategies within the AKOM philosophy.)

Mary Mannix, the ICS AKOM coordinator as well as a national presenter and AKOM trainer, said at the conference, “The goals of the program are to provide an introduction to the philosophy and neurodevelopmental framework that are the core elements of the AKOM approach to teaching and learning and to demonstrate how ICS World Language teachers integrate the AKOM approach into regular class instruction.”

Did you get that? Read it again and notice the combination of ”neurodevelopmental framework” with the teaching and learning of world languages.

At the conference, Mary introduced the core elements of the AKOM approach.  ICS World Language teachers Esti Uribe (LS Spanish), Maruca Garcia (MS Spanish), Ginny Chambers (US French), and Susie Dickey (US Spanish) all presented lessons or activities that demonstrated how AKOM facilitates a different way of thinking about instructional practice and the demands of school.

The eight neurodevelopmental constructs (mental functions used to complete any learning task) were defined and described by Mary. As specific neurodevelopmental constructs were introduced, an ICS teacher presented a lesson or activity demonstrating the construct in use. By making explicit the connections between the constructs and their own instructional practice, ICS teachers were able to demonstrate how the AKOM approach leads to more efficient and effective instruction. Connecting the constructs to demonstrations allowed our teachers to weave a narrative about the power and possibilities of the AKOM approach as it is used in ICS classrooms.

The AKOM-thing is tough to explain at times. People often ask us “What does AKOM look like?” In this seminar our language teachers were able to show what it is and how it looks when fully integrated into the teacher’s professional practice.

As far as we can tell, this is the first time anyone has taken the approach of demonstrating AKOM in use in a single discipline across all grades from lower through middle to upper school levels.

• Maruca deserves the credit for seeing the possibilities of this approach and for bringing together all the presenters with a unified sense of purpose.
• Maruca also taught a lesson on how to teach memory strategies.
• Esti’s lesson demonstrated a unique and thoughtful approach to teaching Social Cognition and Higher Order Cognition.
• Ginny’s demonstration connected teaching French and teaching math through a Temporal-Sequential lens.
• Susie presented an approach to assessing student work through multiple perspectives.

For the ICS teachers involved in the presentation, it was a real validation of the work they do. When we are immersed in our work at school, it is sometimes a challenge to see just how different we are. The message from the participants in our program was that we are different and that we are utilizing techniques and strategies not only in a way that no one else is, but also in a way that no one else has even thought of doing.

I am confident that learning how to learn a language is just as important as learning a new language. We also know that strength in a first language leads to strength in a second and then a third language. I am proud that our teachers were able to share their expertise with other professionals and even prouder that these teachers work with our students every day, providing innovative teaching and helping students excel. Maybe with this type of instruction my world language would have gone beyond, “Estou a falar um pouco Português.”

On Tuesday, November 29, 2011 we learned of the death of Anthony (TR) Randolph. As I informed families in a school email, TR was the son of school founder Becky Randolph, husband of Assistant Head of the Lower School Amy Benson, an alumnus of Indian Creek, and thus both a classmate of peers and a former student of many teachers. He was truly part of Indian Creek’s immediate and extended family.

I do not have the wisdom to write about death. I will leave that to philosophers and theologians who have much deeper understanding. However, I do know that when we learned of TR’s death, there was a deep sense that we as a school had lost someone very close. I never met TR, and I regret that. But he knew Indian Creek and our community knew him. He was one of our very first students when the school was founded, he watched it grow over the years, and just last year he shared his experience as a marine archeologist with our upper school students. People have described him to me as an intelligent man who loved life, a man who liked people and who was liked in return.

His death left people feeling a profound loss and so they turned to one another for support. Indian Creek is of course a school, and our stated mission is to help educate students. But we also describe ourselves as a family. TR was truly family by both birth and marriage.  But people here use the term “family” in a far more generous way to describe what they fondly call “The Creek.” At times it is difficult to explain the culture of Indian Creek School in this way. How does one qualify or even quantify what that means? Where does that concept fit in the rubric by which prospective parents evaluate schools? How can we measure the impact of this sense of family on how an employee feels coming to work in the morning? What does it mean to us as we both celebrate and grieve?

In this wider vision of the Indian Creek family, TR was a beloved member. Our school, a place that so strongly believes in the culture of family, has lost someone very close. As a school then, we extend our sympathy to TR’s mother Becky, his wife Amy, his former teachers and classmates. TR, Indian Creek will miss you.

And it is really important that YOU do it.

This is an invitation to participate in an on line survey. I know how this sounds, an invitation to participate in an on line survey. It does have that sort of “Dreadful Event” quality, doesn’t it? But it isn’t Dreadful and it is really important and I really want you to do it.

Last year we hired a firm named Arts and Sciences to perform a year-long study into our strategic marketing. Their work will ultimately and directly inform the Board of Trustees as it continues to develop and revise its strategic plan. This plan helps us establish our goals for the years to come as we pursue excellence in educating students. To me, that seems pretty important.

The survey demographics seek one response per family, and so we mailed the letter explaining the survey to the parents listed as “primary parent” to explain the survey. This parent will receive the email request on Monday, November 14. The window to participate is only open for a short time, so we ask that you respond as soon as possible. Clearly our goal is to have as complete participation as possible.

The survey takes about 20 minutes, which clearly makes it Not So Dreadful. I think you might also find the questions interesting, challenging and even thought provoking. Throughout the rest of the year, the Arts and Sciences researchers will contact other people in our community to discover more about us to help us best inform our decision-making.

But first, we begin with our parents.

So please look for the letter explaining the survey. Then look for the email invitation. Then complete the survey. I cannot promise it will prevent other Dreadful Invitations in the future (“Please come see Rick’s One Man Mime of The Barber of Seville complete with an Exposition of His Interpretative Dance Piece called “Stillness”), but I can promise that you will be doing a great service to the school. Many thanks.

• Do digital textbooks make a difference in the classroom?
• How effective is a “flipped” classroom model?

and concerns:

• Report criticizes rush to virtual education
• Schools offer on line classes, but challenges remain

As schools explore and then implement new technology initiatives, we face many challenges. We can look back at the one-to-one laptop programs that burst on the scene ten years ago and cost schools millions of dollars and even a greater investment in time. The results of such one-to-one programs are mixed, and I say that meaning there were positive results as well as negative.

Now with growing interest in tablet or specifically in I-Pad technology, on line learning, and e-readers, we face the same challenges. But we can also fall back on some important lessons learned.

Technology initiatives have the potential to engage learners, broaden their technology skills, and usher in cost efficiencies. At the same time, there is little evidence to find that programs improve student achievement. Furthermore, when budgets get tight, initiatives like the one-to-one program were too often abandoned.

We also have learned that there are ways to help insure success. Greaves, Hayes, Wilson, Gielniak and Peterson (2010) reported three:

1. Ensuring uniform integration of technology in every class;
2. Providing time for teacher learning and collaboration;
3. Using technology daily for student online collaboration and cooperative learning.

Furthermore, I agree with one district official whose district went to a digital model for some curriculum delivery who said, “This wasn’t a technology initiative — this was a curriculum initiative.” I think this supports author Jim Collins’ observation about technology in the business world when he said, “Technology alone never holds the key to success.” However, “when used right, technology is an essential driver in accelerating forward momentum.” We want to consider both what students learn and how they learn. This should help us not get enamored with a device, but with a philosophy, and considering how students learn is inherent in the ICS philosophy.

Right now a committee of faculty and staff at Indian Creek is surveying the technology landscape in education. We are looking at programs involving e-readers, tablets, on line courses and curriculum including such things as web design and programming. From that work, we will begin to formulate plans and consider resources to implement those plans. We do know this – this technology initiative is a curriculum initiative and we are excited by the prospect.

As we move forward, we will look forward to engaging our community in that discussion.

They say you never forget your first car (used Subaru two-door hatchback) first Grateful Dead concert (Eugene, 1978) and first Creek Fest (2011). I think that saying is true. First of all – I have to thank everyone (everyone!) who came to enjoy the day, who volunteered time, who helped plan and organize, who donated money for specific activities and games, who played and coached in games, who ate prepared and ate great food, who played games, and who wore their Creek Wear proudly at the most fun you could have had on October 15.

I arrived early so I could find the “perfect” place to watch the games, and there I stayed to support our players and coaches. No one told me that of six games played (Middle School Girls field hockey and soccer and Middle School Boys soccer & Upper School Girls field hockey and soccer and Upper School Boys soccer) that we would win them all. The games were well played, well coached, and as always I was inspired by the tenacity, discipline and sportsmanship of our players. We came to compete, and compete we did with all of the enthusiasm that could be brought to Creek Fest and the games.

In between games I browsed all the events, and took in a few horse races inside the gym as well as some ambitious games at the duck pond, ring toss and others. The hamburger was great; the nutty ice cream bars looked fabulous as the coaches toasted their victories with them.

While all of the games, events, and activities were fun, it was the quality of time that impressed me the most. The time families had together; the time we had as a community; the time we shared. I have been at a few schools, and visited and learned about many more. Many schools talk about “community” but few care enough to invest in making it happen. And it takes a community to build a strong school, people working in partnership to support students. This was evident at Creek Fest, 2011 –a first I will not forget.

I got to tell these stories to Jude. (And he does look good in tie-dye, the Eugene Grateful Dead kind and the Creek Fest 2011 kind.) I think these stories are important because on October 15, 2011 we spent some time together and that’s what makes Indian Creek School. Thanks for being there. See you at Creek Fest 2012 (and all the days in between)!

Second grade students running through a tunnel of high school students getting high fives . . . teachers from Evergreen campus getting hugs from former students . . . Bruce Crossman doin’ a little step to the band playing Staying Alive . . . the lower school dance team welcoming all the teams onto the court  . . . and the Creek Fest Pep Rally had begun.

Creek Fest (the weekend) really began on Friday afternoon in the Upper School gym. And when we talk spirit, when we talk community, well then we are talking the pep rally to introduce Creek Fest.

We began with Mr. Evans from the middle school introducing to Mr. Cook from the Upper School the future of Indian Creek athletics  . . . the members of the boy’s soccer, girl’s soccer, field hockey and cross country teams. Then the Upper School teams come onto the court  . . . equestrian team, dance team, cross country, sailing, girl’s soccer, field hockey and boy’s soccer.

Then Gerry Connolly, Upper School head, told the story of great heroics in the Roman army on a rainy day (much like today) in 55 B.C. He told the story of when one soldier from the Roman legion rallied the troops, the cheer EUGE (hooray) went up. That cheer then came from the students, first lower, then  middle and then upper school. And when the Roman troops rallied to victory, the cheer AQUILA (The Eagle) went up. And that cheer, too, went from lower to middle to upper and then whole school — AQUILA.

After the cheer (AQUILA!) the students from lower and middle school competed in a game to turn an upper school student into a mummy. Then students from all divisions had not one, but two clothes relays. Most of the clothes got on at least part way but the spinning on the field hockey stick sent some students in crazy directions.

The final dance took, one, two, three, four attempts – but it turned out we would have to wait for dancing until later. However, that could not damper the spirits. The lower and middle school students then started to exit the gym leaving in applause from the upper school students, high fiving the two Eagles (now named Euge and Aquila). What an amazing effort from members of the student governments from both middle and upper school as well as two lower school representatives to work together to create a great event for our school.

Thanks to our bus drivers for the extra work today to bring us together, and thanks to the middle and upper school bands for playing together, and the lower school dance team, and all of the faculty and staff, students and athletes for making it happen.

And now on to Creek Fest . . . you have to be there.